Maiden Voyage of Nutritional Yeast

I've never used nutritional yeast - until today. I've wanted to try it, but I haven't been able to find it in my area. Today, Husband and I drove up to his old college stomping grounds and while we were in the area, we went to a local co-op grocery store that specializes in organic foods. It is also very veg-friendly. I ended up with a jar of gomachio and a small sack of nutritional yeast (from the bulk foods aisle). Success!

Now...what to do with it? I've run across many recipes that call for nutritional yeast but didn't really know where to start. I figured macaroni and "cheese" was a good option, but I didn't really feel like making a pasta. So I found the Macaroni and "Cheese" recipe in Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet and tweaked it a bit - using my favorite brown rice/wild rice mix and adding some veggies. The result - pretty tasty, although I think it needs more nutritional yeast or cayenne pepper or something to give it a little more zip. Also, I didn't have all the ingredients in my pantry that you need for Robertson's recipe, so I improvized. Here is the result...

Wild Rice Casserole
1 pkg. brown and wild rice mix (North Country brand)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen green beans
1/4 cup shredded carrots
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped, frozen onion
2 cups soy milk
1 12 oz. pkg. extra firm tofu, drained
1 tbsp. lemon juice
6 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
salt to taste
1/4 cup cornmeal

In a large saucepan, prepare the rice mix according to package instructions. When the rice mixture is done, take the lid off the saucepan, add the peas, green beans and carrots and put the lid back on to thaw the frozen vegetables. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Put the sauteed onion in a blender with the soy milk, tofu, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture over rice and vegetables and stir well to combine. Pour all into an oiled casserole dish and sprinkle the top with cornmeal. Cover with tin foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes. Done!

Moroccan-Style Wild Rice

So, I really don't know the first thing about Moroccan food. I've never been to Morocco and never even eaten at a Moroccan restaurant. I call this recipe Moroccan-Style Wild Rice because the flavor reminds me of a Moroccan couscous recipe I've used in the past. That couscous recipe calls for cinnamon and cloves, neither of which I used here (especially because I don't care for cloves). I can't vouch for my measurements - I really just threw this together not expecting much so I didn't pay much attention to measuring. I'm more of a "flinger" when it comes to cooking, anyway. (BTW, the lovely salad pictured next to the wild rice is the Broccoli Salad with Raisins and Sunflower Seeds from this month's issue of Vegetarian Times, pg. 64, if you have it.) That recipe is faboo, too!

Moroccan-Style Wild Rice
1 sm. pkg. brown and wild rice mixture
2 cups vegetable stock (I prefer Kitchen Basics)
1 cup water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cook rice mixture according to package instructions using the vegetable stock and water as the liquid. While rice cooks, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, mustard, ginger, turmeric, garlic, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. When rice is done and cooled slightly (but still a little warm), toss it with the vinaigrette, raisins and pecans. Serve chilled.